Right-handed pitcher Ethan Martin, the Dodgers’ first-round selection in this year’s amateur draft, agreed to a $1.73 million signing bonus on Thursday and will report to the team’s Rookie-level Gulf Coast League affiliate in Vero Beach, Fla., next week.

But before actually signing on the dotted line, Martin, who also was a good-hitting shortstop at Stephens County (Ga.) High School, donned a Dodgers uniform and stepped into the cage during batting practice.

With Dodgers manager Joe Torre and former manager Tommy Lasorda watching intently, along with several others, Martin hit at least four home runs.

“I had always dreamed of hitting on a big-league field, and it finally came true,” Martin said. “I see these people on TV all the time, so when you meet them face to face, you kind of have to sit back and think about how special that is. I was a little bit nervous.”

Martin, 19, actually won’t pitch that much the rest of the season. Logan White, the Dodgers’ assistant general manager for scouting, said he will be limited to about 40 innings this summer.

“He hasn’t thrown in a while,” White said. “My guess is it will be 10 or 12 days before he pitches (after he reports). It’s going to be short outings (at first), and we’re probably going to monitor it (from there).”

Furcal update: Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal, who underwent surgery last week to have a bulging disc partially removed from his lower back, said he believes he will play again this season. But Furcal also said that given the nature of his injury, and the fact he had repeated setbacks before ultimately deciding to have the surgery, he won’t push his luck.

“I think I will play, because I feel so much better than before,” he said. “Right now, I only feel sore at one point, where I had the surgery. Before, if I would try to run, I would wake up the next day with soreness all down my left leg, and my hamstring would be so sore that I couldn’t move it.

“We have three months left. They say … six, seven, eight weeks. But I don’t want to go on the field just because I feel good. I want to get it a little bit stronger.”

Furcal also said he won’t allow the prospect of impending free agency – he is in the final season of a three-year, $39 million contract – to lend urgency to his rehabilitation.

“For me, getting healthy is the first thing,” he said. “I don’t want to think about free agency.”